Thursday, September 24, 2015

Brushing off criticism that the Conservative government hasn’t done
enough to resettle Syrian refugees, the ruling party is back on top in public
opinion polls for the Oct. 19 election.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives regained the lead with 32
per-cent support in a Forum Research poll.

The party lagged behind – dropping to as low as third place – in recent
weeks but Forum president Lorne Bozinoff said the Conservatives likely got a
boost with news that Canada has a $1.9-billion budget surplus this year.

Second was the socialist New Democratic Party with 30 per cent followed
by the Liberals at 28, Green, 6, and Bloc Quebecois, 4 percent.

Forum pollsters asked Canadians if the Conservatives are doing enough to
deal with the Syrian refugee crisis and offering resettlement assistance.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they were while 36 percent
believe more should be done.

At a leaders’ debate in Calgary about the
economy, Harper said “staying the course” with tax cuts and balanced budgets is
the safe road to prosperity.

Liberal
Leader Justin Trudeau called for more spending as an “investment in the future”
while the New Democrat’s Tom Mulcair said he would invest in social programs
and raise corporate income taxes.